Bittersweet Reunions
by RougeJazz
Summary: Jack runs into someone from his past...how will this affect his everday life?...will he still leave for Santa Fe?
1. Running Into You

WHAM! Jack Kelly fell to the the ground. He noticed a girl on ground too and realized that she must have been what he ran into. He glanced up and saw more bulls.

"Are you runnins from dem?" Jack asked. The girl nodded, so he took her hand and they sprinted at top speed through the Manhatten streets.

Soon they had created quite a large gap between the bulls and themselves. They quickly turned down an alley and disappeared into an abandoned button factory. They waited to hear the sounds of the bulls trampling right past the factory's door.

"Well it seems we lost 'em," Jack laughed. "It seems ya safe now, so I betta be gettin back to da Lodgin House. Da fellas will be wonderin where I am."

The girl fell to the ground and curled up into a ball, her face grew red while she silently was holding in her tears.

Jack crouched down next her her. "Whats da matta, kid?"

"I ain't got no place ta go. My friend Shina 'n me, wes live on da streets with no jobs," she answered.

Jack took her chin and turned her face toward his. "Now dats nothin to be ashamed of," he said in the most sincere way. "Here's just a thought. Youse could come and live in da Lodgin' House. I mean, Kloppman doesn't usually allow goils, but, uh, for a time like dis, I think he can make an exception."

"Really?" she asked starting to smile.

"Sure," Jack replied,"But, uh, before wes start livin togetha, I should prolly know ya name, huh?"

"Yeh, of course. Me name's Anastasia, but everyone just calls me Jazz."

"Name's Kelly, Jack Kelly. But some call me Cowboy," Jack said as he helped Jazz to her feet. His rough fingers wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Come on, I'll show ya da way."

"Thank you so much, Jack," Jazz smiled at him.

Once they were back in the sun they were able to see each other clearly for the first time. Jack looked at Jazz and her saw a girl with brown hair that was shining gold in the brilliant sunlight. Her hair went down to her bustline and was curly at the ends. Her eyes shone a bright brown and gold, and they were accented by the lite freckles on her sun-tanned face. She was only about 4 inches shorter and probably only 2 or 3 years younger.

The two walked slowly through the New York streets so that Jazz could absorb the route to the Lodging House into her mind. They passed Horace Greely's statue and weaved in and out, alley after alley, until finally they arrived at the Newsboy Lodging House.

Jack walked inside the Lodging House, "Hey, Kloppa! I got a goil outside dat needs a place ta stay 'til we can get 'er back on 'er feet."

"Huh? Jack, ya-ya-you know we don't allow girls in heah," Kloppman replied.

"Yeh, but she ain't got any place ta stay," Jack made his brown eyes into huge puppy dog eyes.

Kloppman held his breath, but he couldn't resist and a smile broke his face. But he looked Jack straight in the eyes and told him, "Tonight, Jack, just for tonight."

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"Shina! Shina!" Jazz came running down an alley with the most excited look on her face.

"Wat?!" a strong, tall boy with dark curly hair and green eyes yelled back.

"You won't believe who I ran into today! He..."

"Wait...'he'? You were off carousin with some fella, when you were supposed to be gettin us food?!" Shiner exploded. "Did you even get any food at all?" Jazz's huge grin faded.

"Oh, my gawd! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I forgot, but ya gotta understand, see I was gettin us some apples, but I didn't have any money! So I tried..."

"Stealin?" Shiner snickered.

"Yeh, so den I was bein' chased by da bulls and dis boy helped me escape!"

"Oh wow, Sounds..." Shiner started sarcastically.

"But what the good news is, is that we don't have to live in dis goddamned alley anymore!" Jazz stood there with one cocked eyebrow waiting for his stubborness to disappear.

It immediatly did. "Are you serious? What'd ya mean?"

"Jack, the boy who saved me, lives in dis Newsboy Lindgin House and the House Master said it was fine for us ta stay there! Wes don't hafta live in dis dirt and disease hole any more!"

The two broke out into smiles and laughter. They hugged and danced a miniature celebration for a few moments until they realized that they had to get together her few things and travel over to their new home.

Welp  Please R&R…hope ya enjoyed it!! (no flames plez!)


	2. A Few Intros

"Deir names are Jazz 'n Shina," Jack announced to all the Lodging House boys.

"Where are dey gonna sleep, Cowboy?" Dutchy asked.

"Well, dere's only one empty bed, so who can bunk wid Shina?" Jack as the group.

"Why can't he bunk wit Jazz, I mean dey are friends and Itey 'n Snitch do it all da time, so why not?" Kid Blink asked.

"'Cuz Jazz is a goil, ya muttonhead!" Jack exclaimed and hit Blink up-side the head.

The whole Lodging House "Ooohh"ed and some even cheered.

"Hey, come on, Jack. Ya know ya can't bring a goil in heah! You made dat mistake wit Manhattan," said Mush with a bit of a cocky smile and attitude.

"Nah, it's fine. Kloppman agreed to it," Jack said cracking smiles on to his own face and the faces of many of the others. Mush just blushed a little.

"When are dey gettin' heah?" Race asked.

"I dunno. Prolly soon dough," Jack said, and just as he finished his sentence, the door opened and Kloppman entered leading two bright-eyed people into the room.

"Jazz!" Jack yelled. All the boys immediatly took off their hats.

"Cowboy!" Jazz ran into Jack's friendly and warm embrace. Jack noticed everyone looking at them funny so he let her go. Kloppman knew it was time to leave, so he turned on his heel and shut the door behind him.

"This is Shina, fellas," Jazz introduced the tall, green-eyed boy with dark curly hair behind her.

"Hey," Shiner said in a really deep voice.

"Youse not from around heah are ya?" Specs asked.

"Massachusetts," Jazz and Shiner said in unison.

Jack looked at them, "Where in Massachusetts?"

"Weston," Shiner said. "You eva heard of it?"

Jack's mouth dropped to the floor and he gaped at the two guests. The room was silent. Some of the newsies started to whisper to each other.

"What's da matta, Jack?" Skittery asked.

Jack was lost in his own world,a nd memories of his childhood came flooding back to him, for Weston was his howmetown. He saw faces floating through the grey, cloudy mist of his mind. His mother, his father, his sister, all of them he had lost and had never seen again. Suddenly, he heard Skittery's voice and he was jolted back to reality.

"Huh?" Jack said looking a little sweaty.

"Isaid, 'What's da matta?'" Skittery asked again.

"Oh! Aww, nuttin', fellas. My uh, Uncle George lives dere. Dat's all," Jack lied and looked at Jazz. Her eyebrow was cocked up, but she didn't say anything.

Kloppman returned from downstairs, "Lights out, boys! Got a lot of papers to sell tomorrow!"

"Yeh, yeh, yeh," the newsies said.

"Here, lemme show youse where you're gonna sleep," said Race beckoning Jazz toward him. Jazz and Shiner followed Race to the back of the room.

"Jazz dis is your bed, and Shina you'll bes bunkin' wit Tumbler cuz he's da smallest."

"Thanks,..." Jazz trailed off and motioned him to tell her his name.

"Me name's Racetrack, but, uh, you can call me Race," he grinned. Snipeshooter walked past and poked his ribs, "Ahem...Camaderie...Camaderie."

"Speakin' of her, I need ta meet her tomorrow night!" Race yelled and started to un-button his vest. Once he realized what he was doing he quickly buttoned it back up and blushed slighty.

"Meh, don't worry 'bout nothin'. I mean I have been living with Shina for quite a number of years," Jazz pointed out. She sat on her bed and started to take off her dusty shoes and old brown socks. Some of the boys jsut shrugged and started to strip, but others still felt embarassed and went to the showers to change.

Once Jazz was only in her underdress, she lied down and pulled the lone cover over her shoulders, and closed her eyes.

_________________

She felt a warm breath on her face. She opened her eyes and saw only darkness.

"Jazz?" Jazz whispered. "Sorry ta wake ya, but I just needed to tell ya somthin."

"What'da you hear, what'da you say, Jack."

Tomorrow I'm gonna skip sellin' papes, so I can help ya find a job, and getcha on ya feet."

"Really? Thanks," Jazz pulled herself up to hug Jack.

"No problem, dame. Ya got somthin' in ya, kid. I don't know what it is, yet, but i know there's somethin' in ya," Jack replied. "Now go back to sleep, but don't get up with the newsies, 'cuz wes gonna sleep a lil' longa."

"Ok," Jazz smiled and went back to sleep, only to dream of her hopeful future.

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well go ahead and review if you choose!


	3. Sweet Reunion

The sun shone through the window onto Jazz's face. WIth blinking eyes she woke up and looked around and didn't see anyone. She could hear the newsies on the street shouting headlines; both real and false. 

BANG! A shower door flew open and Jack emerged from the stall.

"Oh good you're awake," Jack smiled. "I really didn't wanna wake ya, but ya needed to get up soon." Jazz yawned and Jack walked over to her. "So how'd ya sleep last night?"

"Not too bad," Jazz smiled and leaned down to get her socks and a golden locket fell from the hiding of her underdress. Jack's eyes widened and he stared at her for awhile.

"What's inside?" he asked sounding like a mouse.

"In what?" Jazz looked at him oddly then realized he was looking at her locket. "Oh, this. It was a gift when I was born." She handed Jack the locket shaped like a bright, gold sun draped around her neck. 

He opened it and couldn't believe what he saw. He felt like he was falling down a hole that had no end. Light faded from the room, vision faded from his eyes, Jack faded from the world, and the world seemed to fade from reality. It felt like everything that was logical was gone and only fate remained. Jack didn't know what to think, for the pictures in this girl's locket were his parents. 

"What's wrong?" Jazz asked Jack who was breathing hard and sweating heavily.

Jack's eyes jolted to Jazz's. He put his hands on her cheeks and tears filled his anxious eyes.

"Annie? Annie, is dat you?" Jack was trying to keep himself together.

Jazz's eyes became very wide and she searched for an answer in his eyes. No one had ever called her that except her only brother. Tears flooded her eyes as well.

"Francis? Oh my god, Francis?" Jazz began to weep so hard that she couldn't see anymore.

They embraced each other and neither of them wanted to let go. They both thought about why they had lost each other:

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Flashback:  *Francis Sullivan was only six, and Anastasia Sullivan but 3. They thought that everything was fine, btu they were wrong. Their father was a secret alcoholic, but it usually never interfered with their home life. Soon afterward, he drank more and would always come home in a drunken rage and would become very violent. Their mother and father began to fight all the time. 

One night she hid all of his booze, but when he came home drunk and looking for more and didn't find any, he took a knife from kitchen. He came upon Francis and Annie in their bedroom playing marbles. The children screamed at the sight of their father's blood-lusting eyes. He fell to his knees and started slashing at the children. They kept screaming and trying to scoot backwards. He slashed what looked like a star on Annie's left ankle, and a cross on Francis's left shin. Their mother came running in and hit their father on the head with a bottle. She wanted to put an end to it. While the father was knocked out, she gathered their clothes and she fled to her sister's house. 

The next night the father snuck into the house and killed their mother. He stole Francis and ran away to New York City. 

After six terrifying years, Francis's father was finally captured and is serving a life sentence.*

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"Does dis mean dat Pa is dead?" Jazz asked into Jack's ear. The two looked at each other's legs and saw the scars.

"Hopefully. When I was twelve dey put him away for good," Jack choked. "Does dat mean Shina is..."

"Yeh, he's Malachi."

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Flashback:  *After living with her grandparents for eleven and a half years, they were dead. In dizzy tears, Anastasia packed up her few clothes and little money she had and decided to leave. She thought New York would be where she'd have a future. As she ran down the stairs she saw a familiar figure in the doorway.

"What's your hurry?" Malachi asked.

"New York! I have to go to New York!" she screamed with hot, burning tears rolling down her cheeks.

Malachi firmly gripped her shoulders, "I'm not lettin' you go alone, kid."*

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"So ol' Mally's heah?" Cowboy smiled. 

They wiped away each other's tears and saw that the day was maturing fast.

"We'se betta get goin'. Come on," Francis yanked her arm.

In a cheesy British accent, "Shall I get dressed first or will it be bare breast and ankles all the way?"

Francis realized what she was wearing and burst out laughing. "You're right. But please be quick, Bunny."

"I will," Jazz smiled and quickly dressed in her black skirt and pink blouse. 

Once she had completed her job with her dusty, black shoes, Francis said, "Now let's go find ya a job." They linked arms and entered the rat race known as the Manhattan streets.

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well business as usual is you please!


	4. A Tough Day At The Stables

Francis couldn't believe it. He kept pinching himself, because he knew he must've been dreaming. His sister AND his best friend was here in Manhattan! And he had found them. After all these years, he felt like he had a family again. He rubbed the goose-egg bump that started it all.

"Alright, now where should Bunny work?" Francis thought out loud. "Perhaps the stables?" He looked at Anastasia with an inquisitive face. "I know people. Let's see. Da boss's name is Jones, and I have a very close friend dat will take real good care of you. His name is Trots."

"Stables sounds great. A lot better than those goddamned sweatshops!"

The two walked to Midtown where they arrived at a small brick building that was connected to a large wooden barn with many stables. Above the brick building a sign was hanging that said:

Jonesy's Ponies

and Horses 

"Dis is da place, now let's see if dis is da job," Jack said and sighed heavily.

"Cowboy! Hey, Cowboy!" a tall, skinny boy with slick-backed blonde hair and very dirty hands came running from the barn.

"Trots! Hey-ya, kid, I haven't seen you since the salad incident," Jack spat in his hand and thrust it forward. Trots mirrored the gesture and completed the shake.

"So what's the dealin', Jack?" Trots asked.

"Well, to get to da point right away, me sista needs a job, and, uh, preferably a place ta stay, Trots," Jack pushed Jazz into view.

Trots eyed her down, "Ya eva woik with horses before, kid?"

"Well, I rode a pony at a carnival once," Jazz replied timidly. Jack burst out with laughter. "What?" Jazz snapped.

"I remember dat! Hahahahahahahaaa! You was cryin' before you were even in da saddle! Hahahahahaa! And five seconds into it...hahahahahahaa...you fell off!" Jack lost it and Trots began to laugh as well.

Jazz stood there very embarassed in front of two laughing hyenas.

"It's not funny! I had a bruise da size of Brooklyn on my rump for a month!" Jazz pleaded, but it only made them roar louder. "Bah! Never mind I'll get the stupid job meself!" Jazz stormed into the small brick building, took a deep breath, and put on a cheesy, innocent smile, and stepped up to the clerk's desk.

"Hello, little missy. What can I do for you today?" Asked a delightful and jolly man that reminded her of Kloppman, only much shorter.

"Good morning, sir, I was wondering if you could give me a job," Jazz stood there trying to look as innocent yet hard-working as possible.

"Sorry I'm not in charge of that. You'll need to see Mr. Jones. He is the man in charge here." The small man jumped off his booster stool and stepped out from behind the desk. Jazz's eyes widened at the sight of him. He looked like a character from one of her fairy tale books, his eyes were like bright, twinkling stars made of ice and his height was most obscure for the top of his head only reached the bottom of her ribcage.

"Follow me, please," the short man said. Jazz looked back and could still hear the boys cackling outside. The man led her up a passage of wide wooden stairs and through a surprising number of doors. Finally they arrived at a large cherry-wooden door that said:

Mr. Bartholomew Jones

Owner & Founder

"You'll find him in there." The short, jolly man pointed inside the door.

"Thank you," Jazz curtsied and opened the door.

As the small man walked away she could hear him saying "What a polite little girl." She wanted to laught but knew she had to stay serious.

"Excuse me, um, Mr. Jones?" Jazz said in a bit of shock at the look of his office. It wasn't all satin and gold like Pulitzer's, but it was filled with books. Next to a large window there sat a normal wooden chair and a small and obviously cheao desk, but all the walls were covered with overflowing book shelves. The most elegant of book shelves too. "Oh my god," Jazz whispered breathlessly. Anastasia had learned to read from her grandparents and ever since she could read, thats all she did in her free time. Her favorite materials were Shakerspeare's works.

"Yes?" Mr. Jones looked up from his paperwork. "Yes?...Yes!?" He realized that he walk talking to a wall, a wall that was astounded by his library. So he stood up and walked over to her. She didn't even notice. He started looking at the same bookshelf that she was. "My favorite is 'Utopia'," Mr. Jones said.

Jazz jumped and suddenly realized that the owner had watched her drool over his book collection for the past few minutes.

"By Sir Thomas More," Mr. Jones finished.

"Oh yes, yes. I'm sorry. It's just...wow," Jazz sighed.

"What is it that you want? Hopefully it wasn't to stare at my books," Mr. JOnes chuckled. Jazz looked down and blushed.

"Uhh, I was hoping you would give me a job. I'm a hard worker and don't require anything special. So please?" Jazz splurted out.

"A job, eh? These horses and ponies are the best in all of New York City. This job is not to be taken lightly. You can't be afraid, you can't be weak, and you are definately not allowed to give up. I only hire people who take this seriously. Are you serious?"

"Of course I am!"

"You'll have to prove it to me. I'll gove you one trial day, if you last, then you got the job, but we don't need a weak link."

"Good thing I'm not one, sir"

"You'll be working with Will today. Now the trouble is going to be finding the rascal."

The two walked back through the labyrinth of the building and into the New York air. They saw the sad sight of Jack and Trots still slightly laughed and wiping tears from their eyes.

"WILL!" Mr Jones said with authority.

"Huh?" Trots quickly looked up and stopped laughing.

"You will work with this girl today. It's her trial day."

"Oh, ok. Come on, kid. See ya, Cowboy." Trots took Jazz's arm and lead her into the barn. "Sit down and I'll show ya da basics."

After a long lecture, the work began. It was much harder than she thought. Keeping all the different kinds of food and the horses straight was exceptionally difficult. She also realized how heavy everything was. After falling onto the dusty ground so many times she could barely feel her legs, ankles, or feet. While she was feeding Horace, her locket fell out and frightened him and Horace went bizerck. 

Mr. Jones was getting fed up with her sad excuse for a good job. He walked down to where she was trying to polish a saddle to tell her the unfortunate news.

"Look, kid, you seem nice, but I dont think you're what I need around here. So let's just say your trial day is over. You should probably leave to look for a job." And with that he returned to his book filled lair.

A solitary tear fell down her cheek and she slumped away.

"Jazz! Jazz!" Trots ran up to her. "Where ya goin, kid?"

"I was fired, I mean, I didn't get the job. I just have ta leave."

"Do ya even have any idea of where ta go?"

"Well, no, but..."

"But, nothin'! Besides the sun's about ta set so ya betta get back to da Lodgin House."

Jazz looked at the brightly colored pink sky. "Oh gees." Jazz stumbled off in the directionof the Lodging House.

"Oh and, Jazz. Good luck, kid."

Jazz didn't look back she just started to run. She felt like such a klutz and a failure. She didn't feel like dragging her sorry ass into her brother's kindness only to show how badly she did.

Once she arrived at the Lodging House she just walked past it until she arrived at the Horace Greeley statue. She climbed into the staues lap and fell into an uneasy sleep.

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"Owwww!" Jazz awoke from a hard poke to the stomach. Once her vision came she saw the last person she expected.

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review if you wish (but plez no flames) 


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